Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-04-14
RAILROAD THIEVES.
TIL IR AcconPLrcHs THREATENING
TIE OFFICIALS.
Tho Superintendent Of the Panhandle
Warned to Make No More Arrssts-Ths
Government Win Take Q Hand
In. the Prosecution.
rBy telegraph to the Dispstch.i

handle railroad officials. Among tne
mail laid on Superintendent Taylor's
desk this morning was . letter IN
dainty envelope. 1t was addressed to
Mr.. Taylor, who opened it, and found
the following threatening missiye
Don't make any more arrests, damn
you, or we will cut your damn wires,
and do it as often as We please. You
can'tBet us all, and you had better let
the matter drop.
Dcnnison. D., April ~, 1887
Superintendent Taylor thinks he re-
cognizes the handwriting, and the man
suspected will be spotted. He is still
in TIE company's employ. This letter
would indicate that the thieves have
not all been captured and that the
gang was well organized. The police
are still working quietly on the case,
and startling developments are pro-
missed.
Two more arrests were made shortly
after midnight. John Barth and G. W.
Smith, brakemen, supposed to be i'm
plicated in the robberies, were sur
rrised at their homes. Barth was dis
charged from the Panhandle n short
time ago, and has since been working
on the Baltimore and Ohio. Several
pawn-tickets and some new handker-
chiefs, it is said, were found on the
persons of the prisoners. A number
OF the accused who have been inter
viewed assert their innocence, and give
plausible explanations for the goods
found in their possession.
John Nimmo, chief of the Brother
hood of Brakemen on the Panhandle
road, called upon Deputy Mayor Gripp,
before whom the warrants had been
sworn out this morning, and stated that
he had been employed on the
Panhandle road for the past four
months. During that time he had
never seen anything crooked among the
employees. The brotherhood, he said,
would employ counsel to defend the
prisoners, and, if possible, establish
their innocence. If proofs were shown
Of their guilt, however, the brother
hood would assist in their conviction.
II was the intention, also, to proceed
against the company for damages if the
charges against any Of the men under
arrest are not sustained.
Detective Coulston, of the city po-
lice, left this morning to arrest several
men who had been in the employ OF the
company, but who had left before the
exposure. These men, it is claimed,
are known to have been among tins
most prominent and reckless on the
Panhandle. They are now in the
employ of the Pennsylvania railroad,
the Fort Wayne, the Lake Erie, and
the Baltimore and Ohio. 1t is asserted
that these men went to the other lines
TO organize the crews of those roads
with view of systematic robbery.
The United States authorities have
decided to proceed against the Pan
Handle plunderers for breaking into
Government bonded cars An investi-
CATION is now in progress here, and the
matter will then be laid before the De-
partment OF Justice for further action.
As time progresses the most positive
and confrmatory evidences accupIiate,
showing that the peculatiOGs on the
Panhandle railroad have been far
in excess OF what has been reported
by officials and others who might be
interested in placing the losses at the
lowest figure. This afternoon it came
to light that a car was rifled Sunday
the Cd instant between this city and
Dennison, NORA single article OF value
beingleft behind. This bold move on the
part OF the railway freebooters brought
them booty valued at 50, 800. It has been
stated by parties in the American De-
tectiye Bureaus Office in this city that
the stolen goods stored in the rear Of
Gilkinson's private office contain $780,
coo worth Of valuables, part OF which
was obtained at the city "fences. ]"
An addition has been made to the re-
covered property by goods brought
back from New Waterford, Ohio, by
Detective John L. Norris, who also
lad with him Elmer Young, another of
the accused railroaders.
The company has already satisfied
most of the claims OF the consignees
of the stolen property. The goods III
the hands Of the detectives will be sold
at auction when all the cases are set
tied in court. The trunks will not be
unpacked until the hearings are held
before Alderman Grip on Monday.
In further confirmation of the theory
that the robberies have been in excess
Of what they have been reported, and
that the losses extend well into hun
dreds of thousands, the statement of
John Hampton, who has been attend
ing to the legal end of the case, is alone
sufficient. Said he "Had the counsel
and officials of the Panhandle railroad
desired to arrest all of the employees Of
the road who were directly or indi-
rectly connected with the robberies, it
would have been necessary'to stop the
operation of the road when the case
had been worked up to the point of
making arrests. The selection was
made from a long list of names, the
supposed riDgleaders being the ones
against whom the charges were prefer
red"
Not only is the number against whom
infoimstions were made small in COM
parison with what it might have been,
according to Hampton's statement, but,
as was learned through positive state
ment by Alderman Gripp to-day, not
more than half OF those charged in the
informations have been arrested. Many
for whom warrants were out commenced
fleeing from dangers way in oil direc-
tons.
Assistant District Attorney Pagan
stated that there were at least 10S in
formations, and that some of them
named eight and ten persons. On an
average, he said, each of the 10S infor-
nations contained the names of at least
three persons. From these statements,
therefore, it viii be seen that however
large the number of railroaders under
arrest, and however successful the de-
tectives were in making their descent
upon the train-robbers, fully half the
number intended to be arrested are
still at large.
Fined for Libel on n Dead Man.